Although the need for improving the quality of personnel dosimetry systems is well recognized by the health physics community members and by various authorities, there is no overall agreement on techniques and methodology which are required to achieve this goal. Some of the inconsistencies between the various dosimetry programs and systems have been recently demonstrated in a pilot performance test conducted by the Department of Energy Laboratory Accreditation Program (DOELAP) where as a group, the participants met the test criteria in only 38% of the categories. The results of this study show large variations in the reported dose by different dosimeter types which were exposed to identical radiation fields and dose levels. The participants all experienced difficulties in the categories that involve low energy photons or mixtures of low energy photons and beta rays. The main reasons for the large variations in the test results and poor performance in some of the test categories that were identified are: (1) lack of evaluation and preparation of the system, (2) calibration problems, and (3) dose calculation algorithms and dosimeters not able to accommodate a wide range of radiation types and energies. The design and response characteristics of the dosimeter coupled with the dose calculation algorithms which translate the dosimeter response to risk related quantity (dose equivalent) are among the most important factors which affect overall performance of a dosimetry system.